


Welcome Home

by dracusfyre



Series: Tony Stark Bingo Challenge [36]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25592236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracusfyre/pseuds/dracusfyre
Summary: Tony and Bucky welcome Steve home from a rough mission.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo Challenge [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1033895
Comments: 5
Kudos: 176
Collections: Tony Stark Flash Bingo





	Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Welcome Home  
> Card Number: 018  
> Square: 1 "Polyamory/Open Relationship" (swapped for "Juice Pop" from the open party adoptables list)  
> Ship: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: None   
> Summary: Tony and Bucky welcome Steve home from a rough mission.

Tony knew Steve was home from his mission because as he went from the living room into the kitchen he saw the shield and Steve’s boots by the front door. He knew that it had been a bad mission because the front of the shield faced the wall, hiding the stripes and star, and the boots were kicked off in a messy pile rather than set together neatly. And also because post-good-mission Steve always announced that he was home, and this time no one had heard him enter. Tony found him in the kitchen, sitting at the island, head in his hands and still wearing his uniform. There was a bowl on the counter as if he had started to get something to eat and had given up halfway through. Tony grimaced in sympathy as he came in. “Hey, you’re back,” he said softly, putting a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Steve said. He put his hand on Tony’s and squeezed it, dragging his gaze up from the countertop to smile tiredly at Tony. “Just got in. Haven’t even showered yet.”

Tony kissed Steve’s temple and pulled away to go to the refrigerator. “Hungry? We have leftovers from dinner.”

“Sounds great.”

Silence fell as Tony put the leftover pot roast and a pile of rice on the plate and stuck it into the microwave. As it warmed, he filled up the abandoned bowl with some cereal so that he could have something to do rather than just stare at Steve while he ate. As he slid the plate in front of Steve and handed him a fork, he said, “Want to talk about it?”

Steve ate in silence for a while, so Tony let the question linger in the air as he ate his cereal, trying not to push. By trial and error he had realized that post-bad-mission Steve was prickly and easily combustible, which made Tony lash out defensively and resulted in lots of fighting and lingering guilt, so he made a conscious effort to keep his normal conversation to a minimum. “We couldn’t save everyone,” Steve said finally, voice low. “Some of the trapped survivors had died by the time we got there.”

“Ah, shit.” Tony set his spoon down and watched his cereal get soggy. As much as Tony knew Steve hated not being able to save everyone, Steve was also a realist and knew that they couldn’t save everyone all the time. What made this time different was that the mission had been delayed by the renegotiated Sokovia Accords, which had taken off the requirement that ‘enhanced assets’ be registered with their home country but had kept the requirement that any intervention be approved by a UN panel. It had been a bitter pill for Steve to swallow, and this exact scenario – people dying because the Avengers weren’t allowed to mobilize as quickly as possible – had been the core of his resistance to the protocols. When this crisis, an 7.6 earthquake that had rattled the third largest city in Iran, had come across the wire, Tony had used his not-inconsiderable influence to get Steve’s team in there as soon as possible rather than letting geopolitics become involved but apparently it had still taken too long. “I’m sorry.”

Steve only ducked his head in acknowledgement and kept eating. Logically, Tony knew that Steve wasn’t mad at him, even though he had been the one arguing on behalf of the Accords, but he also figured that his presence wasn’t going to make Steve feel better right now. There hadn’t been enough water under their particular bridge for Tony to be able to pull Steve out of a bad mission funk; there were still too many hard feelings lurking below the surface for them to capsize on.

Running a hand over his face, Tony cut that particular metaphor off before it got too tortured and finished his cereal. “Bucky’s already in your room,” he said as he put the bowl in the sink for Bucky to fuss at him for in the morning. “He figured you’d be back tonight and didn’t want to miss you. He might even still be awake.”

That won him a faint smile from Steve. “How did he do while I was gone?” Bucky had been a wreck for Steve’s first few missions, anxiety making him withdrawn and irritable and easily tired. Tony had been able to help him manage his episodes with patience, understanding, and aggressively inventive sex, and eventually Bucky had developed a Pavlovian response to Steve’s missions that made them a lot less stressful for everyone.

“Well, he’s not going to be able to sleep in his room for a while until his new mattress is delivered, I’m sure he’ll tell you all about that. And he taught Jaime a new trick that you’ll appreciate.” Tony got himself a glass of milk and poured Steve a glass of water that he chugged gratefully.

“Will I get a retelling of how you two broke a mattress, or could I get a re-enactment?” Steve said with an arched brow, small smile still playing on his lips as he finished his pot roast.

Tony felt his ears get hot, still not as used to the three of them being, well, the three of them as Steve and Bucky apparently were. He cleared his throat. “There’s a video.”

“Oh, really?” There were so many layers to that _oh_ , _really_ that Tony could have sliced it like a cake. The heat from his ears was spreading in a prickling wave down Tony’s back and he shifted slightly where he was leaning against the counter. Steve’s sharp eyes didn’t miss the subtle movement, and Tony knew the man’s ears could probably hear the way Tony’s pulse was starting to pick up.

“It was Bucky’s idea. A welcome home present.” Tony took Steve’s plate and rinsed it off to give himself something to do rather than squirm under Steve’s steady, thoughtful gaze.

“If I know Bucky,” Steve said, voice suddenly deep and rough, “the video is the wrapping paper, not the present.” He pressed against Tony’s back, pinning him to the counter for a moment as he reached Tony around to put the empty glass in the sink. Tony sucked in a breath at the contact but Steve just moved away, already peeling off his uniform as he headed towards his bedroom.

“Did Bucky teach you how to be a tease, or was it the other way around?” Tony complained, abandoning the sink to watch the view as Steve got naked.

“Neither. I just started realizing why he enjoys it.” Steve paused right in front of his bedroom door, stupid perfect super-soldier body cast in artful shadow like a classy pinup poster. “Are you coming?”

Tony hesitated. “Am I invited?”

"Do you want to be?" Tony first instinct was to refuse, not want to come between Steve and Bucky's post-mission reunion. When Tony hesitated, Steve said, "The question's not what you think _we_ want, it's what about what _you_ want," like he had read Tony's mind or something. 

T=Since the whole reason Tony had come upstairs from the lab was because he had been looking for company, wondering if Steve was home yet or Bucky was asleep, instead of demurring he said, "Yeah, I'd like to."

Without looking away from Tony, Steve called through the door. “Bucky, is Tony invited to join us?”

“He’s in trouble if he doesn’t,” Bucky called back, voice slightly muffled. “I didn’t just spend four hours editing this sex tape for him not to watch it with us.”

“There you have it.” Something in Steve’s dark, hungry gaze made Tony move slowly, his flight instinct and fuck instinct at war with each other. Steve must have noticed, because his smile turned downright predatory. Tony sucked in a deep breath as he suddenly got goosebumps; he'd never seen this side of Steve before. “You heard the man, Tony,” he said, opening the bedroom door and gesturing for Tony to go inside. “That’s an order.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr, I'm on it](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dracusfyre)


End file.
